I just wrapped up A Dog in Georgia by Lauren Grodstein, and while it wasn’t quite the warm-and-fuzzy dog tale I expected from the title, it turned out to be something deeper, messier, and ultimately more rewarding.

When I first started, I thought I was in for a gentle story about a woman rebuilding her life with the help of a rescue dog. You know, a midlife reflection, healing, probably a metaphorical sunrise or two. And sure, those elements are there. But what I actually got was a layered exploration of personal reinvention set against the political unrest in modern-day Georgia (yes, the country, not the state.

The main character, Amy, heads to Tbilisi looking for a break from her life, her marriage on pause, her adult children, and her grief lingering in the background. What unfolds is part travel narrative, part introspective reckoning, and part cultural immersion. And yes, there is a dog, but it’s not really about the dog.

Instead, the novel focuses on identity, purpose, and the ethical tension between wanting to help and not fully understanding the systems you're stepping into. Amy finds herself wrapped up in the lives of locals, the complicated politics of the region, and her own emotional tug-of-war between comfort and growth.

There’s a lot to admire here. The setting feels alive, vibrant, textured, and often fraught. Grodstein doesn’t romanticize Georgia, but she clearly respects it. I also appreciated how Amy’s story never felt like it was being overshadowed by the geopolitical backdrop; instead, the personal and political ran parallel, enriching each other.

That said, I did feel the novel tried to do a bit too much. Amy’s arc is pulled in several directions, grief, reinvention, cultural adjustment, maternal reflection, romance, and activism, which sometimes left her emotional development feeling thinly stretched. And if you came for a full-on dog redemption tale… well, you might be left wishing the canine had a bit more stage time.

This is a solid four-star read. It’s intelligent, emotionally grounded, and globally conscious. It asks big questions without offering easy answers, and while it may not be as dog-forward or uplifting as the title suggests, it delivers something more nuanced: a woman grappling with her place in the world, one decision at a time.

I’d recommend A Dog in Georgia to readers who enjoy slower-paced literary fiction with a strong sense of place, moral complexity, and a quietly powerful protagonist. Just don’t expect a “Marley & Me” moment—it’s more reflective than heartwarming, more “what now?” than “happily ever after.”

Amy Webb has had multiple roles in her life; model, line cook, chef, wife of wealthy restauranteur, stay at home mom, part time teacher. But now that her beloved step son has left for college, she feels at loose ends and gets most of her satisfaction from working with animal shelters. She is also somewhat of an expert at finding lost dogs. At a pivotal moment in her marriage she makes a sudden decision to travel to Tbillsi in the Republic of Georgia to help locate a lost dog, beloved by the community. There she is confronted with questions about culture, politics, and making difficult decisions and, ultimately, about what she needs and who she wants to be.

More than a dog is missing in this story. There’s a lost marriage, the loss of a parent, and the protagonist wandering somewhat lost in a foreign country with a bag of dog treats as she seeks purpose in her privileged life. Lauren Grodstein’s story of an Amy, a middle-aged woman in a midlife crisis, requires the reader to ignore common sense and travel with Amy as she walks a tightrope between duty and desire, regret and reinvention. As an aside, Georgia, the country — not the state — is as beautiful and messed up as Amy.

I'll preface this by saying this book isn't my typical go-to genre, but I was drawn to it as an animal lover. I appreciated the story of self-exploration and the adventure that Amy went on to Georgia. I thought it was an entertaining way to learn more about the political climate of the country. However, I felt like the story was a bit disjointed. Amy was on the hunt for Angel all while political riots were happening, love affairs took place, and parenting struggles occurred. It felt like too many random things happening all at once, which resulted in a less satisfying (almost incomplete) ending.

My biggest pet peeve (SPOILER ALERT) was what was supposed to be the main storyline- the hunt for Angel. I was hoping for a happy, cute, positive ending. Instead, we find out it was all just a scam?! I easily would have given this book another star had the ending been different. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for an ARC of this novel.

Amy used to be a model and a chef, but for the past decade or more she has taken care of everyone but herself. When she finds evidence that her husband, Judd, has cheated on her again, she escapes into YouTube, seeking comfort by watching cute animal videos. There she learns the story of Angel, a dog in Tbilisi, Georgia, who adorably walked children to school, until his mysterious disappearance.

Unable to really make a decision on what to do with the state of her marriage, Amy is convinced that she can find this dog, so she impulsively gets on a plane for the long journey to Tbilisi. Hosted by the animal rescuer, Irena, that introduced her to this story, Amy meets an interesting cast of characters, including Irena's rebellious daughter, a handsome boarder from Russia and a whole house full of dogs.

Once Amy gets to Georgia, it's obvious she's there not only to look for the dog but to try and
figure out what she wants to do with her life and her marriage. The narrative also delves very deeply into the political unrest in Georgia. Although this storyline was informative, it just seemed out of place to me in the context of the rest of the story. Is this a political/social book, or about Amy and her identity crisis?

There were some really poignant sections of this book that I felt were really interesting. I loved how the author portrays the ambivalence of a long term marriage - the complex feelings and missed opportunities that come in middle age. There was one part I loved towards the end when Irena, the Georgian host, reads our Amy the riot act about her privilege.

The two parts of the story seemed in conflict to me and didn't fully come together. But, I think readers interested in learning more about the political landscape of that area will enjoy, as will readers struggling with their identity and choices in midlife.

A remarkable concept...a somewhat unhappy woman upends her life to travel to Georgia and search for a beloved lost dog. Family, parenting, love, loss, addiction, and political choices confront various characters over the week Amy (dos) is in Georgia. I the Georgian home, we meet a young woman protesting, a Russian hiding from his country (and telling his daughter a different version of his life), and multiple women doing the best they can. Many unexpected twists and turns!

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the eARC copy of this book! A Dog in Georgia follows Amy, a woman going through a crisis in her marriage, as she decides to travel to Georgia to help find a missing dog.

This book felt very well researched, delving into the topics of Russian occupation and the Georgians fight for self-rule. The political discussions really showed how uneducated Americans can be to the political situations in other countries. We get to see Amy grow as she learns more about the family she is staying with, and see her get to be involved in the protests.

The characters felt relatable, and my favorite character was Maia. Based on the blurb for the book, I was expecting more time to be spent searching for Angel, the missing local dog, but the scope of the novel, as in life, turned out to be much bigger.

While I did like this book, I do think my enjoyment was hindered a bit as I’m probably not the target audience. I didn’t really like the relationship that Amy developed with Andrei, and the resolution with Irene and the host family felt unfinished.

I would definitely recommend this to my mom and aunts, who are animal lovers and are a little bit older and can relate to having adult children. Overall, a decent read!

Grodstein’s book is warm and relatable. It focuses Amy Webb, a former chef, in New York City. She is angry and feels unmoored. Her stepson is off to college, her husband is having another affair and she hasn’t worked in ages. She has lost her sense of self.

In an act of pure impulse to get away from her husband she decides to go to Tbilisi to help look for a missing dog. There she finds that it’s easier to care for animals than confronting her own difficult relationship. Time after time she puts off examining what is happening in her own life as she focuses on caring for the dogs and then eventually the people in Georgia.

What stayed with me most was learning about Georgia’s post-Soviet struggles and its tense relationship with Russia. Andrei, the Russian deserter from the Ukraine front brought into focus just how tenuous freedom is.

Amy watches how hard Maia fights for Georgia’s future and realizes all Irina has sacrificed in the past. In doing so Amy reassesses her own life. She has always prioritized other’s needs over hers. While the ending is not tied up we know she now is going to follow a path of her own choosing.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Algonquin Books for an Advance copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

A story of family, a father, son, and a wife who comes across a story of a dog in Georgia, but not the Georgia in the US. She leaves her husband and his son to fly across the world to find this dog that she has become obsessed with, and ends up staying in a house where she can stay close enough to track this dog, wanting to bring it back to their home.

I loved this story, overall, although there is more to this story, I think this is one of those books you are better off reading the book instead of the reviews of others.


Pub Date: 05 Aug 2025

Many thanks for the opportunity to read Lauren Grodstein's 'A Dog in Georgia'

“A Dog in Georgia” is by Lauren Grodstein. While the reason that the main character, Amy Webb, leaves NYC and goes to Georgia (the country, not the state) is to try to find a missing dog - this is a really minor point once the story gets rolling. This story is about Amy trying to figure out who she is in life (midlife crisis? Becoming aware of things outside of herself? Expanding her political knowledge?). While I’ll admit to knowing nearly nothing about Georgian politics (and looked up quite a bit of things & checked with my more politically conscious friends), I found the politician discussion interesting but at times it felt too overwhelming for me to enjoy the story. I read to escape and politically driven books aren’t relaxing for me to read (especially when I’m double checking information). The synopsis didn’t match what I thought this book was going to be about, so I feel a bit let down. Was this book educational - yes. Was it a light read - no. Would I recommend this - yes, but the cover makes this book appear to be something it isn’t.

“A Dog in Georgia” by Lauren Grodstein is exceptionally well written and well researched. I knew nothing of Tbilisi and it’s people going into this book which caused to pause reading and do a lot of Googling. I love when books encourage me to grow as an individual. The story is emotional, the plot is engaging, and overall it was a very powerful read. The richly detailed setting and strong character development kept me fully engaged throughout. People who like books about strong women will love Amy’s story.
Thank you to NetGallery and Algonquin Books for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

A very well written story about self discovery and healing.
Who is Amy? Where did she go? I really enjoyed this story so much!
I didn't like the cheating part much but I did love the rest of the story.
I also got to travel to a wonderful place called Georgia that's overseas. To honest I've never heard of this country so I did learn a lot!!
I couldn't put this story down until Amy told me her story. I think the dog will be my favorite however. Angel is a wonderful dog that seems to make this story special. I loved his antics and the way he helped Amy discover things along the way.
Such an endearing story. Sometimes it broke my heart and others it made me smile too.
I feel like Amy should never have let her passion for being a chef go but then there wouldn't have been a dog named Angel.
A lot of political aspects in this story but I didn't let that stop me. In fact, it was what kept me turning the pages plus the search for the dog.
This story left my heart feeling full and satisfied. I was NOT one bit disappointed!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

charming and well written story that really sucks you into the world which it is set in. would definitely recommend. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I enjoyed this mid life ‘coming of age’ story. The characters were well developed, written so well they activated my senses. I have never been to Georgia, but feel I know it much better after reading this book. The struggles, the activism, the passion for peace and self rule were enlightening. Marrying those themes to the lost protagonist was brilliant. Thank you for the opportunity to read a galley. I will enjoy watching this come on the scene, and I hope it does well.

Amy Webb escapes her own mess to fly across the world to solve someone else's problems. Or rather, find a beloved missing community dog. She is flawed, as are all those around her, and it's not entirely clear how much she learns about herself, even in situations that should bring clarity to her life and decisions. This isn't a story I've read before. It's contemplative, cross-culturally eye-opening, and would make a great book club pick.

I was expecting a mid-life crisis novel about a woman who decided to do something purely for her own means after a lifetime of doing things for other people. And this novel certainly started off that way. And then the main character got on a plane to Georgia (the country) and it became something very different. I found myself being given a history lesson about the ethics and politics of a country that is fighting for its right to stay independent. All very fascinating but far removed from the genre I was expecting.
There is a dog in Georgia but don’t expect this book to be about dogs. And don’t expect a neatly tied up ending. I just finished it and am still scratching my head to understand what actually was going to happen next.
Secretly I would have loved there to be a doggie happy ending. I am not even sure the humans got a happy ending.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

There is this dog in Tbilisi, Georgia, called Angel, who used to help schoolchildren cross the road but then disappeared.
There is this woman in New York City, USA, called Amy, who used to derive a sense of purpose from caring for her husband and stepson, but the stepson is now away at college, and the husband is cheating, so Amy is hit by a midlife crisis of meaning.
There is this country that isn’t currently called an empire but behaves like one, as if it doesn’t already have enough land.
It’s been a year since that empire most recently invaded Ukraine to start the full-scale war.
It’s been 15 years since that empire most recently invaded Georgia, occupying part of its territory.

I am usually not a fan of the story type “oh no, I have just discovered that I’ve been living a life that’s not my own for the past several decades, and now my prime time is long gone.” But I am a huge fan of stories that combine a genre formula[*] with some real-life concerns.

[*] I know it’s not common to think of stories about a midlife crisis of meaning as a genre formula, but on the keyboard of this reviewer, the term doesn’t imply anything derogatory in terms of the quality of writing or literary worth—just that there are some expected elements that recur between different stories and can be counted as part of the formula.

Well, in this novel, I really liked the combination of the two levels—the personal and the social/political. Neither feels like an afterthought, a wrapper, or a background for the other. You may come for the relatable and touching story of Amy’s search for her own worth and stay for the “Vices of Russian Imperialism 101.” Or vice versa—you may come for the interest in Georgia, its culture and political struggles, and stay for the heartfelt story of Amy’s personal journey. (But most likely the first trajectory, just because of how the book is marketed.)

When you encounter a book about a region you care about by a foreign author, there’s always a reason for anxiety about how they’ll portray it. While I have no connection to Georgian culture, I’ve been to Tbilisi quite a few times, so I appreciated how thoroughly Grodstein depicted the city space in the novel. It feel very real and recognizable once you have the mental image to refer to. While I cannot judge how it will read to a native of the city, it is clearly the work of someone who came, paid close attention, and took care to share their impressions with the audience. (Okay, I’ll spell it out: rather than treating it as some abstract exotic location that’s just a backdrop to the character’s spiritual journey of self-discovery. That’s what we’re anxious about, right?)

I also liked how there are multiple well-detailed secondary characters, each with their own agenda and understanding of the world—not just props for the main protagonist to discover something.

So I guess I liked it much more than I expected when I mostly grabbed it for “Dogs? Tbilisi? Wrap me one.”

Publication date: August 5, 2025.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an eARC through NetGalley. The opinion above is entirely my own.

46 year-old Amy has been married to restaurant owner Judd for years and has raised his son as her own. Now that he's in college, she has found herself spending much of her time watching YouTube videos about a special dog named Angel in the Republic of Georgia, who has gone missing after she has spent years helping school children cross the street in her small town. Since Amy has a background in dog rescue, she decides to fly to the Republic of Georgia to help find Angel with her drone and traps and American know how, hosted by the woman she has been corresponding with on line.

Once Amy gets to Georgia, it's obvious she's there not only to look for the dog but to try and
figure out what she wants to do with her life and her marriage. The reader is also introduced to the political unrest in Georgia
and there is much knowledge to be gained here for those of us who have little knowledge of the politics in this area of the world. Amy gets pulled into conflict between her host and her politically active and protesting teenage daughter which is used as a storytelling device to educate us.

I learned quite a bit in this novel but it wasn't really what I was expecting from the synopsis and title. Yes there are dogs, but not as much as I had anticipated, and Amy's character seemed to be pulled in SO many directions. There are plenty of great reviews already so I may just be the outlier here saying this one was fine but just not for me.

Thank you to net galley and Algonquin Books for the egalley of this book.

What's being marketed as a belated coming-of-age is more of an examination of geopolitics for the white American liberal intellectual. It's a nice coming-of-age, it's a mediocre look at geopolitics. It's an exemplary diary of Georgian food, it's a terrible mystery. It does a wonderful job of discussing step-parenthood and how addiction affects children, and it has a lot of great dogs. but it's a stupid ending that made me want to throw my Kindle in frustration. Such is the plight of "A Dog in Georgia," a book of contrasts that don't quite work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A woman with animals and a gift for finding lost dogs, is at a crossroad in her life. Online she has been following the story of a lost dog in Georgia (the county not the state). So she decides to put her “life” on hold while she flys to Georgia to find this missing dog. Of course, it becomes a journey of self discovery and more. She experiences Georgian culture and society while living with the local residents. The reader learns a lot as well. For me this book was primarily worth reading to learn the perspective of the Georgians.